In this brief guide, we’ll address the search query: “What happens if you leave eggs in the car?” Also, we’ll explore how eggs should be stored, how to tell if eggs have spoiled, and what are the health risks of eating spoiled eggs.
What happens if you leave eggs in the car?
Leaving eggs in the car can have a detrimental effect on their shelf life, especially if they are subjected to high temperatures, humidity, and other factors like direct sunlight.
Eggs have a rich fatty acid content, and high temperatures can quicken the process of these fatty acids breaking down, which causes eggs to become rancid. To avoid this, many brands recommend storing eggs in a cool, dry pantry, in refrigeration, or most recently, in subzero temperatures.
We urge our readers to exhaust every measure to keep their food fresh and maximize its shelf life and to be mindful of the storage instructions needed to preserve their food adequately.
How should eggs be stored?
Eggs should ideally be stored in a cool pantry (provided they’ll be quickly consumed, such as for baked goods, etc.), refrigerated, or for long-term storage, they may even be frozen.
Our readers need to anticipate what storage alternative best suits their needs, to avoid spoilage and contamination.
For example, a carton with a dozen eggs may be conveniently stored within a dark, cool pantry. These eggs run minimal risk of spoiling, as they can be used for cooking, and making confections, and may be used well before their expiration date.
If our readers, however, are inclined to buy more than a dozen eggs, it may be in their best interest to store them in refrigeration, ideally on a shelf where there is very little temperature fluctuation, and ideally, next to the cooling source.
This will help extend the shelf life of eggs, as low temperatures decrease physiological processes and slow down the growth of microbes that may have found their way to their surface, and if left unchecked, can hasten spoilage.
Alternatively, a way to greatly maximize the shelf life of eggs is by freezing them. Our readers can freeze whole eggs by taking them out of the shells, and then whisking them together, or emptying them sans mixing into an ice tray and flash freezing them.
Once the eggs have solidified, they can be placed in a heavy-duty freezer bag and then frozen for long-term storage.
Also, our readers can separate egg whites from yolks for freezing, by drawing out the yolks with a plastic bottle, and pouring whites and yolks into separate containers.
Eggs can be frozen individually or in large volumes, usually, this depends on the use our readers have for their eggs.
Frozen, eggs can be stored for up to one year at peak freshness, and to be used in cooking, they can be taken out (as needed if they’ve been portioned) and defrosted overnight in refrigeration or directly used in cooking.
Freezing is an especially handy alternative if our readers purchase in bulk, and wish to keep it in long-term storage.
How can I tell if eggs have spoiled?
Eggs have spoiled if they are discolored, have a watery consistency, give off foul smells, have cracked shells, and show signs of microbial growth.
These eggs should be discarded either by throwing them in the trash or flushing their contents down the drain.
Another way to tell if eggs are past their peak is to subject them to a float test. Eggs can be tested by dunking them in a basin with chilled water.
If they’re of good quality, they’ll sink, whereas if they float, they’re past their freshness, and consuming them may cause illness. This is because the air content within the shell has begun to increase, and the eggs are no longer fresh.
On average, eggs can keep for up to five weeks after they’ve been packaged, and many suppliers print a tentative expiration date on their packaging. However, how eggs are stored greatly affects whether or not eggs reach this date, and maintain freshness beyond it.
A conservative estimate states that eggs can keep for roughly seven days in refrigeration, past their printed expiration date.
What are the risks of eating spoiled eggs?
Eating spoiled eggs can trigger symptoms of food poisoning, such as abdominal aches, fevers, dehydration, muscle aches, headaches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc.
Groups that are especially at risk when suffering symptoms of food poisoning include the elderly, pregnant women, young children, and patients with compromised immune function.
In severe cases, a doctor may prescribe a course of antibiotics, along with intravenous fluids to combat dehydration.
We urge our readers to always make sure the food they cook is well within the expiration limits, and properly store their food, to maximize its shelf life.
Conclusion
In this brief guide, we’ll address the search query: “What happens if you leave eggs in the car?” Also, we’ll explore how eggs should be stored, how to tell if eggs have spoiled, and what are the health risks of eating spoiled eggs.